Have Robert Mondavi Jr And Christopher R. King Made The Best Cult Wine In Napa?

Self-made millionaire entrepreneur Christopher R. King seems to have the magic touch when it comes to business dealings. Now, he’s testing the winemaking waters with the release of his first-ever 2010 Napa Valley red wine, The King of Clubs, a project he developed along with winemaker Robert Mondavi, Jr. and restaurateur Justin Anthony. King was inspired to craft an over-the-top red wine during a dinner years ago with Mondavi. “I was telling him how much I loved the older Bordeaux wines and wished we could make something like that in Napa. Rob said, ‘We can do it, it will be expensive, but we can do it.’ That was the birth of an idea.”

King, who is unabashed when characterizing his wine, says, “It was made for connoisseurs by connoisseurs. For the top one percent of the world who really love high end prestigious wine.” At $799 a bottle it certainly prices itself out of the everyday market.

Despite his years of collecting, King readily admits to still being on the winemaking learning curve. “There is so much I don’t know,” he says. But, he’s tasted his share of world-class examples and has a very definite idea of what he doesn’t like. “My first over-the-top wine was a

L to R: Christopher R. King, Robert Mondavi Jr and Justin Anthony

1994 Harlan Estate. It just drew me in; I didn’t know wine could be like that.”

For the King of Clubs project, King, Anthony and Mondavi tasted through dozens of wines seeking out qualities they wanted in their final product. King didn’t want his wine to be “hot” on the finish, so keeping alcohol in check was important. “I also wanted a softer silkier wine, with notes of cherries and blackberries. I’m not a huge fan of pronounced oak; I need a balanced finish.”

Mondavi notes that, “The wine style Chris and Justin were describing had to come from select vineyards on the eastern bench of the Oakville appellation. Fortunately one of my friends owns the vineyard and another friend and long standing Napa Valley family farms it. We hit the jackpot and were able to craft this remarkable special vision.”

King adds that he set out to make an “envelope-pushing” wine in terms of taste, packaging and style, noting, “We went in the opposite direction with less residual sugar and lower alcohol content. We sourced the best oak barrels, the best glass bottles, and the best fruit.” Of course, if you read wine labels, these are things that many other Napa winemakers like to tout about their wines. Yet, King believes that he and Mondavi have made something really special. “What Rob’s grandfather did when he made Opus One---I think we are doing that again. We went all out; we didn’t just make this in Rob’s basement.”

When asked what specific vineyard the fruit came from, King was surprisingly mum, “I can’t disclose specifics, but it’s made with 86% Cabernet Sauvignon from the upper eastern bench of Oakville; 10% Cabernet Sauv. from the Napa Valley floor and 4% Petite Sirah. It spent two years on 100% new French oak.”

Will King’s wine set a new bar? Can we call it a cult wine right now? Is it worth $799 a bottle to find out? Having never tasted the wine, I can’t offer an opinion. And, as of this posting, the wine has not been officially rated by the major wine magazines. It hardly matters, the wine collectors hold the all the aces in this card game anyway.

If you want to try a bottle you can find the wine at: Wolfgang Puck's Spago, Cecconi’s, and the Montage Hotel--all in Beverly Hills.

I’ve been trotting the globe in pursuit of wine, food and travel stories for over 16 years. From the vineyards of New Zealand to the press houses of Champagne, I’ve met a world of fascinating people who have stories to share. In between adventures I review restaurants for Th...